The Untold Tales of Ember
by Esmeia
Summary: While Spyro and Cynder's tales are widely known, Flame and Ember's stories have been overlooked. A story focusing on my versions of Ember and Flame, and their roles. Contains FlamexEmber, SpyroxCynder.
1. Chapter 1

**Legacy of Ember**

Yes, this is Ember-centered. Don't like it, please click out.

This is actually the storyline of a comic I plan to illustrate sometime soon, introducing my version of Ember had she been in the new LoS series. I decided I needed to write down the story before transitioning it into a comic.

Please enjoy.

* * *

_My head feels like it's been hit by a mace..._

Light blue eyes slowly flickered open, surveying the shaky surroundings. Though her head pounded painfully and her vision was slightly blurred, she concluded that she was inside of some sort of vehicle, a moving prison. Small slit of light could be seen in the corners of the shaking wagon. It was obvious that the sun had just risen.

Collecting her wits, the small dragon tried to pull herself up. Her legs were quickly pulled back down, harsh metal rings chafing against them as she slammed back down onto the hard wood.

Whoever had knocked her out was careful to bind her as well.

She gritted her teeth in frustration, lifting her head up. The chain collar around her neck didn't make the task an easy one. Glancing up again, she heard two gruff voices from outside speak to one another. She focused her attention on them.

"Damn animals, the lot of them! Giant, filthy lizards with wings..." One of the voices said hotly. The other voice laughed harshly.

"Yes, but you can't deny they make great tools! Why, when that little runt grows up, there'll be nothing left to stop us, eh?"

"HEY! Shut up back there! How easily you seem to forget that one of the very beasts you speak ill of happens to be the one that will be your King." This came from a deep, commanding voice further up ahead. This immediately silenced the two drivers.

Ember wondered what this was all about as the wagon continued to rattle as it crossed the rough terrain of the mountains. Escape was impossible: even if she somehow melted the strong metal clasps, she didn't think she'd have the strength to fight off her captors. She decided to concentrate on sinking her claws into the dark wood of the floor, the rattling of the wagon threatening to thrash her around.

What seemed like hours went by as the large group made their way up the slope of the mountain. Where they were headed, the young girl had no idea.

_What will they do to me, I wonder? What do they want with me in the first place?_

As though to answer her unspoken question, the large door of her cage slid open with a dull scrape. She looked up, slightly startled to see a large, hulking silhouette stand against the dull orange light of the sunset. Though it was difficult to make out his features, wild hair and large claws could be seen against the bright light.

She slit her eyes in warning, uncertain of what he wanted. A low chuckle chuckle came from the beastly figure as it stomped towards her.

"You don't scare me, whelp. Your cute little growls are useless here." He said mockingly, taking out a small, rusty key. He bent down and unlocked the shackles that bound her legs, kicking the chains aside as though they weighed no more than a pile of strings.

Gingerly massaging the reddened flesh near her paws, she remained silent. Up close, she could see that he was some kind of ape. A lemur, with a very rough appearance. He was by no means ugly, but he had a cruel look about him that worked oddly with his young features. Unlocking the chain from the side of the wall, he yanked her up by her collar.

She choked, clawing at the chain. "That hurts!"

"Ah, so you **can **speak?" He grinned in amusement, wrapping the links of the chain around his wrists securely. She stood up, although rather shakily, ignoring his snide comment.

"Now, then. Let's go."

Pulling her along, they descended the ramp leading from the wagon. Her eyes hurt from the blinding light of the setting sun, used to the darkness from inside her temporary prison. Looking around, she saw other soldiers. Most of them were primates, strong gorillas by the looks of it. The larger, more dominant ones commanded the smaller, unintelligent ones. They were busy unloading other wagons that contained various weapons, gunpowder, food supplies, and other various necessities.

Many of the apes bared their teeth at her, trying to intimidate her. Though she was admittedly afraid, she didn't let it show. She had learned te hard way that showing fear could lead to horrible consequences.

He lead her to a crude entrance on the side of the mountain, barely noticeable to anyone who hadn't seen it before. Workers were filing in slowly, checking in with one of the two huge guards on either side of it. They made their way to the front of the line, her captor ignoring the evil glares that were shot his way by those who were waiting their turn.

"Found a new recruit." He said simply motioning towards Ember with a small nudge of his heel against her side. She grimaced, glaring up at him.

One of the guards, clad in sturdy armor, looked down at her small frame. He towered over most of the other soldiers, evidence of his experience in wars etched all over his arms. Horrific gashes and bruises were all over it.

The guard grunted.

"Go on ahead, Azin. Though I don't know how much value she'll be."

The one he referred to as Azin smirked, making his way past them and into the dark tunnels inside. Ember looked around in awe.

The passage leading deeper into the mountainside was brightly lit with bright, glowing crystals of varying colors. The lights emitting from them dances across the walls and ceiling. Rooms connected to the main hall were shut off by elaborate doors, gears firmly locking intruders out. The ceiling was, instead, some sort of glass structure with water rushing through it. Some kind of water system they had probably built to save themselves the trouble of trekking back and forth from a river nearby.

A rough yank of her chain made her stumble a bit. Her attention now came back to the man walking in front of her. His crimson eyes narrowed at her.

"Keep up. I'm already moving slower than normal as it is." He warned her in a low voice, running his clawed hand across his face. His features were young and, in a weird way, handsome. He looked like he was just out of his teen years. His hair, wild and unkempt, draped down to the middle of his back. His tail, something his peers were lacking, was long and banded, trailing behind him like a cloak. He wasn't too tall compared to the other, Ember noted, but he seemed to command respect from everyone he talked to. It was a safe bet that he was possibly a general.

The two of them soon reached a large door, complicated mechanics adorning the base of it. Ember examined the brass and silver workings, coming to the conclusion that it was some kind of lock.

Azin knocked on the door, the dull thuds carrying down the hall behind them. A gruff, deep voice acknowledged him.

"Who is it?"

"Azin, Sir Gaul. I've captured a dragon whelp in the woods just outside of our territory. She might be a handy recruit." Azin responded immediately, bowing down on one knee.

_Ah, so he's the one who knocked me out._ Ember thought, glancing at him.

The large steel doors slowly opened, the lock's mechanics moving and sliding apart. Ember took a few steps back in alarm, staring into the eyes of a rather large ape with a eerie, glowing jewel in place of his right eye. His long, scarred face was contorted into a sneer, looking down at her. It felt as though he was looking into her mind, judging right then and there if she was worth his time. If it wouldn't be in better taste to just kill her right now.

"Hm... this little one? What could she possibly offer?" Gaul questioned, not taking his eyes off the still dragon.

Azin smiled confidently, reaching down and picking her up by the collar, bring her closer to Gaul for him to inspect her.

"She's young and healthy. She could be trained to become the Dark Lord's servant."

Gaul rubbed his stubbled chin, grunting as he thought it over. She gulped and wriggled uncomfortably, uncertain on what to do.

Finally, Gaul moved took the small, pink dragoness away from Azin, taking the chain he offered.

"Good work, Azin. I thought that all of the dragon eggs were crushed, but it seems more of them escaped my eye than I initially thought." Gaul complemented the young soldier, patting him on the soldier.

Azin bowed, thanking his superior. "Thank you, Sir. If you need my help training her, you know where to find me."

With that, Azin left down the hallway.

Gaul closed the double doors again, setting Ember down on the hard, stone floor. After securing the lock, he turned back to her, kneeling down.

"Now, what is your name? You're big enough where I don't have to take the time to make up one for you."

"..."

Gaul narrowed his eye at her. "I said, what is your name?"

"Ember.." she said softly, looking down at her paws.

"Ember, eh? And where did you come from? I know there must have been others taking care of you-"

"No. There was no one else. I took care of myself." She responded quickly, snapping her head back up. Gaul laughed, a knowing grin stretching across his marred face.

"Is that so? There's no use lying, runt. We'll find them eventually." Gaul warned. Ember remained silent, staring up at him.

He stood up suddenly, rolling his shoulders around.

"Enough of this. Show me what you can do. You must have some powers, I take it." He walked over to a large chair, settling himself onto it with a bored sigh. He turned towards a large room, bellowing.

"CYNDER!"

Ember looked in the direction he called, gasping as a young black dragoness padded out of the room with a yawn. She was around the same age as Ember, looking a little younger. Silver jewelry adorned her legs, neck, and tail. Although she was only a child, dangerous blades adorned her crimson wings and tipped her tail. Three sets of ivory horns made the prospect of a frontal attack suicidal. Despite all her physical defenses, she had a small, cute beak of a snout, giving her a certain charm.

"What, Gaul?" She said in annoyance. Her emerald eyes widened as she took in the sight of Ember, caught off-guard.

Gaul smirked, a large fang poking gleaming in the light.

"Oh, hush, Cynder. Two hours of rest should have been more than enough!" He laughed, the black dragoness shooting him a cold glare. "Anyway, I want you to test out our new recruit."

Cynder looked over the pink dragoness. She didn't seem to have much physical offense. Aside from the heart-shaped blade on the tip of her tain and the two sets of curved, gold horns on her head, it didn't look like she could do too much damage. Her legs seemed quite strong, however, and her claws looked relatively sharp. Her snout, much like Cynder's, was beak-like. Without a doubt, there were needle-sharp teeth lying inside.

In a flash, Cynder began to charge towards Ember, deft concentration etched across her face. Her wing blades were pointed forward. She intended to impale her!

Ember gasped, jumping out of the way just before the sharp blades could pierce her chest. Cynder skidded for a second, spinning around to face her.

Ember's mind was racing. _Darn, this is happening so fast! I didn't think any dragons, much less my age, would be here. Now I have to fight her, too? There's got to be a way I can end this sadistic little duel before one of us gets hurt too badly..._

She bared her teeth as she thought, narrowly avoiding the swipe of Cynder's tail blade as she advanced upon her again. Cynder swiped at her with her claws, leaving three bloody cuts on her chest. Ember winced, using her wing's strong membrane to deflect more of the black dragon's blows.

Gaul laughed in amusement, watching the fight unfold in front of him. "Go on, Cynder. Show her how it is to be a warrior! We have no room for weaklings here."

A sharp pain shot through Ember's wing as Cynder's tail blade pierced through it, ripping downwards. She screamed as blood gushed it, spilling onto the stone surface of the floor. The gold, severed membrane along the wound started to flush red. Ember gritted her teeth, choking back tears.

_Ugh... there's no way to go around this._

Before her opponent could deal a final blow, she lurched forward, slamming the curved part of her horn into Cynder's exposed forehead. Caught off guard, Cynder stumbled a bit. Not wasting a second, Ember whipped around and swung the side of her tail into Cynder's stomach, sending her sliding a distance.

Cynder winced from the impact, coughing. Her stomach ached horribly, making it hard to steady herself. Gaul's disapproving scowl encouraged her to change her tactics. She hurled a poison ball at her panting opponent, it flying straight at her head.

A blinding flash of light illuminated the whole room. Cynder blinked her eyes in confusion, looking up just in time to see her own Poison attack zoom in and his her square in the face. She flew back onto her side, clutching at her face. Her own spell did not hurt her nearly as much as it would against the enemy, but it still stunned and blinded her.

Ember, seeing Cynder struggling on the ground, ran towards her, a ball of white light materializing in her open maw. Gaul held up a hand to stop her, a satisfied smile on his face as he stood up from his seat.

"Enough!"

Her vision slowly clearing up, Cynder carefully stood up, looking at Ember with a confused expression. _What the heck did she do? I know I saw it go in her direction..._

"Very good, Ember. It seems I underestimated you, and judged you solely on your... cutesy appearance." He smirked, watching Ember scowl at him while clutching at her ripped wing.

"It seems you have a new roommate, Cynder. Make her feel right at home, won't you?" He said coolly, staring at his young 'daughter'. Cynder glanced up at him, nodding reluctantly.

"Fine." Cynder turned away, limping back to her room.

Gaul sneered at her, clicking his tongue in annoyance. He looked down at Ember, giving her a nasty smile.

"Welcome to the family."

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Woah, first chapter is done! Pretty proud of it. Next chapter will be up soon. I hope you enjoyed it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Not So Opposite**

**Chapter 2**

**XOXOXOXOXOX**

_Author's Notes: Wow, it's been FOREVER since I uploaded a chapter to this story. Mostly because I had NO idea where to take this story! So sorry! /donthurtme_

_Also, Flame will be in this story. I'm not sure when I'm going to introduce my rendition of him, but it should be soon!_

_Thank you all for the patience! You guys are awesome!_

XOXOXOXOXOX

_Well... this is awkward, _Ember thought.

Ember and Cynder were resting on opposite ends of the room, backs to each other. Ember felt she had the right to be angry: after all, Cynder had slit her wing with those terrible tail blades of hers! Who knew if Ember would ever fly properly again? The black dragon on the opposite end of the room had no reason to be angry at her.

Feeling it was useless to wonder, Ember decided to focus on cleaning her mutilated wing. The last thing she wanted was for it to get infected and possibly compromise the rest of her health. She winced through the whole process, the wing being extremely tender. With a sigh, she realized this was going to be a _long_ night.

She glanced over at her "opponent." Cynder didn't seem nearly as bad off: she'd only sustained minor bruises and scratches. The worst seemed to be the pain in her stomach, which she was idly running a paw across as she stared at the wall, seemingly deep in thought.

Cynder suddenly turned to look at Ember. Alarmed, Ember quickly looked away.

Her alarm turned to panic when she heard the light clicks of Cynder's claws hitting the cold, stone floor. The pink dragon tensed, not knowing what to expect. Would Cynder try to finish the job or want another battle? She didn't think she'd have enough strength or will to have another battle.

Fortunately, she didn't have to worry. Cynder stopped a few feet away. "Are you alright?" Cynder asked, tilting her head. "You're not going to die or anything, are you?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Ember replied reluctantly, looking over her shoulder. "I'm just trying to clean my wounds. Don't want them to get worse, you know?"

Cynder sat down a few feet away, curling her tail around her. "I'm sorry about all that. It's the norm around here. When they tell me to fight, I fight. Ask no questions, just do what they say to make life easier on myself." She shrugged. "Nothing personal."

Ember looked over her sliced wing, satisfied that she had cleaned it well enough. "It's all right. I guess I just have to get used to things, for now." She turned to look at Cynder, standing up.

Now that she'd gotten a good look at her, she didn't seem quite as fearsome as she had initially thought. At first, Ember had been extremely intimidated: Cynder had sharp, dangerous blades on her wings and tail. Her horns, even though she was only a whelp, were curved and strong, looking as if they could easily break bone or armor. Her dark coloring did not help to alleviate her worries, black scales with blood-red underbelly. Her eyes were a beautiful green, but they were always cold and calculating, assessing every situation fully.

Yet here she was apologizing for hurting Ember. _Maybe she's not as bad as I thought..._

Cynder had made it sound like she was trapped here. Like she had no choice but to follow their orders, their rules. Ember had to wonder why she even bothered to stay. "Cynder," she whispered, glancing back at the heavy door. She didn't want Gaul to overhear them, lest she make more trouble for them both. "Why don't you just run away from here? I'm sure there's a way."

Cynder looked down at her claws, shrugging. After a moment, she glanced back up at Ember, a blank expression on her face. "I don't know... Maybe it's because this is the only life I've ever known."

Ember couldn't understand it. Surely Cynder had a family that she wanted to reunite with, _somewhere_. And even if she didn't, anything would be better than this. She could go out there and make a new life for herself. A fresh start. But Ember didn't feel it was her place to judge. She didn't know anything about Cynder and didn't want to offend her. She kept her thoughts to herself.

She looked around at their crudely made bedroom. Cold, dark stone walls gave the room a cold and lifeless feel, like a prison (which was likely what Gaul wanted them to think). The only source of light came from two burning lanterns fixed into the walls. Two piles of hay were the only things that could be considered beds, and even that required a great deal of imagination. It was terribly cold as well. Ember shuddered to think what the conditions were like in the winter.

"Is this _really _where we're supposed to sleep?" she asked, incredulous.

Cynder laughed dryly, sweeping a few stray patches of hay closer to her bed. "That's right. Welcome to the world of luxury."

Ember sighed deeply, worried about what else would go wrong. "What are they going to do to us? What do they need us for?"

Cynder lay back down, resting her head on her front legs. She stared at Ember for a few moments before answering. "I already have a role: to be a warrior. At least, that's what Gaul wants me to be. I train hard from sun up to sun down. I only take the time out to eat and rest up. I'm not quite sure _why_ I have to be one, but I guess I'll find out sooner or later. For you... I'm not sure what they want you to be."

"That won't do!" Ember said frantically, fidgeting. "I need to get out of here." Cynder's answer hadn't served to calm Ember's nerves one bit, instead leaving her riled and restless. "I need to get back to my family, my friends!"

Cynder rolled her eyes, turning her head away in apparent annoyance. "This is your family now. You'd better get used to it, _princess_."

Ember glared angrily at Cynder's back.

_Maybe I was wrong, _Ember thought bitterly, returning to tend her wing. What else could she do, what with the dreadful _roommate_ she'd been given? _Maybe she _is _just as nasty and rude as her "family."_

Ember closed her eyes, concentrating. A light, feathery sensation welled up inside her, gathering near her snout. Bright, holy light shined around her, working to heal the rip in her wing. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, she didn't have enough energy to heal the wing on her own.

Cynder, noticing how much brighter the room had gotten, snapped around. Her eyes widened in wonder; she'd never seen anything like it in action before.

Keeping the spell going, Ember opted to heal the smaller claw marks on her side. The three scratches grew smaller and smaller, disappearing altogether after a few moments. Satisfied for the time being, Ember stopped using her powers and admired her work.

Cynder ran forward, excited. "Woah, that was amazing!" she gushed, her tail swaying around in her excitement. "I've never seen anyone do that before."

Ember smiled, despite her earlier disdain for the black dragon. "Thank you." She stood up tall, shaking herself off. "It's a spell I've known for a long time now. I guess I assumed that every dragon had it, but here I see I've been proven wrong." She shot her a haughty glance. "But I'm sure there are others out there that do."

"Quit yer yammerin'!" Gaul bellowed from his chambers, causing the two girls to flinch. "Go to sleep!"

Cynder rolled her eyes, going to her bed to rest. She curled up, telling Ember to do the same.

Ember, without any ready reason to refuse, complied. She flopped down on her bed, closing her eyes. Today had been one of the worst days of her life—she had been knocked out, kidnapped, forced to enter battled with a fellow dragon, and now she was having to sleep with the same one who'd done so much damage to her wing.

Exhausted, both mentally and physically, she drifted off into a fitful sleep.

XOXOXOXOXOX

What seemed to be only a few hours later, a loud, blaring horn sounded. Ember jumped up in alarm and panic, falling off her bed and landing painfully on her backside.

"Up and at 'em!" Gaul yelled, his hands cupped around his mouth so they could hear. Ember noticed the faintest hints of a grin on his face. "Rise and shine."

Cynder hopped to her feet, glaring angrily at Gaul. "Shut up already! And stop blowing that horn, will ya? We're up already!"

Gaul, having gotten satisfaction out of annoying his students, walked back to his study as Cynder followed after him, mumbling under her breath. Ember had no doubt she was calling him every name under the sun.

Climbing up to the top of her bed, Ember curled up to go back to sleep. Just a few more minutes wouldn't hurt, right?

Gaul, however, soon walked back in and kicked her to the floor.

Enraged and hurt (he had kicked her in the same spot she had landed on moments before), she spun around. "What is it! What's the big idea!"

Gaul sneered down at her, his sharp fangs showing through. "My, what a little diva you are. Get off your butt and follow me."

Ember sighed, feeling more exhausted than before her sleep. She tried her best to wake herself up as she fell in step with Cynder, trailing behind Gaul.

"Cynder," Gaul said. She looked up at him, silent. "You have a lot of training to do. You best be on your toes."

Ember looked to her, curious. "What are you training for, exactly?"

"I'm supposed to bring back the Dark Master," Cynder mumbled.

Ember gasped softly. Gaul didn't seem to catch it though, and continued to lead them down a large, spacious hallway.

Why in the world would she want to bring about the Dark Master? Or, better yet, why did these apes? Didn't they know that it would only end in disaster? Ember's foster parents had told her about how evil and twisted he was, how he only wanted to bring the world to its knees. To rule over anything and everything. They had been lucky, for the Guardians had sealed him away years ago. But now, there were those who were trying to bring him about again…

"Will... will I have to do training too?" Ember asked shyly. She didn't like not knowing where she stood in their plans. For all she knew, they might have planned to use her as a type of sacrifice!

Gaul laughed cruelly. A little too loudly, in Ember's opinion.

"What, you?" Gaul said, shaking his head as if he found the very idea to be completely ludicrous. "Ah, that's a good one. I don't hear too many good jokes anymore."

Ember poked her lip out, offended. She glared at Cynder when she giggled.

"You'll be useful for laboring in the crystal fields," Gaul said simply.

Ember found herself met with yet another statement she didn't understand, but she decided to wait and see what this had in store for her. She would decide what to do when she arrived later.

To her disappointment, Gaul led them to Azin, the same one she had met when she first arrived. He was standing at attention, saluting to Gaul. Gaul nodded to him, silently allowing him to be at ease.

"Azin, I'd like you to show Ember to her job," Gaul said, nudging Ember over to him. Ember winced as he, yet again, hit the sore spot in her backside. "I trust you know what to do."

"Of course, sir," Azin said, snapping the same metal collar around Ember's neck, chains acting as a leash in his hands. Gaul and Cynder left them, going off to train.

Once they were alone, Azin looked down at Ember, smiling. "Well, looks like Gaul decided to keep you. I'm surprised."

"Are you, now?" Ember said, rolling her blue eyes.

With a nod, Azin lead her down a passage way, where many other apes were walking through. Many of them looked at her in curiosity, some growling and snarling at her. Ember growled back, tensing up.

"Don't worry about them," Azin said, twitching his long tail. "You'll have _him_ to worry about."

Ember looked to where he was pointing. To her disgust, a big, overly obese ape sat in a carriage. It looked as though the carriage itself was having a hard time carrying its load, like it would break down if anyone made one false move.

Azin dragged her over, hooking the end of the chains to the carriage securely. He stood back, grinning. "Your job is to be Soric's source of transportation," Azin said. His toothy grin grew even more at the horrified expression Ember wore. "Good luck."

Ember snorted angrily, desperately wanting to flame him. Azin laughed, walking away.

A sharp crack close to her head snapped her out of her thoughts. She jumped in alarm, turning to see her master holding a large, ominous whip. In the bright sunlight, she could make out the traces of old, dried blood and shuddered to think of all the poor things he had used it on before.

"Get to work, you little brat!" he spat. "I swear, you flea-bitten dragons are all so _useless._"

Ember sighed deeply, hating the situation she was in with everything she had in her. Knowing full well it was in vain, she tried with all her might to pull him and the carriage. Just as she had expected, neither moved. Not even a tiny bit.

She gasped from the effort, flapping her wings in the hope that it would help her move along.

No such luck.

Impatient, Soric cracked the whip again. This time, however, it hit her backside, leaving a painful lash. She screamed in pain, spewing fire instinctively. The fire melted the metal clasps of a formation near them, and the platform began falling toward them.

The nameless formation was holding a large quantity of crystals, and as it tipped, its cargo fell around them, embedding itself into the ground. A large one, it's sharp end pointing downward, slid out of the contraption, en route for Ember and Soric. The pair screamed in alarm, diving in various directions to avoid the falling crystal. It landed smack in between the two, skewering the carriage and _barely_ missing the fat gut of her rider. He sighed in relief, quivering.

Another crystal soon joined it, landing on the chain that held Ember captive. Unfortunately, it defied her hopes and did not break, leaving her pinned where she was. She was left with no time to lament the fact, however; the landing on which the crystal barrels were resting began to tip dangerously, threatening to fall on top of them. Ember quickly used her fire breath to melt the chains, pulling away with all her might. Thankfully, she soon freed herself, barely escaping as the metal landing fell. Soric yelled in alarm, crawling away from the scene.

The workers themselves were running around in a frenzy, trying to clean up the mess. Fearing that she would get in trouble for having caused the ordeal, Ember retreated into one of the strange tunnels on the side of a factory. She walked inside a few feet, lying low. No one seemed to notice her.

She sighed in relief, clawing at the collar around her neck. After a minute of effort, her claws caught onto the clasp and yanked off the device. She pushed it out of the opening she'd just entered through, giggling as it fell on top of Soric's head, effectively knocking him out.

_That's what you get! _she thought triumphantly, walking further into the tunnel.

The passage was very humid and smelled of hot coals. She wrinkled her nose, coughing softly, entertaining the idea of leaving immediately. But what would they do to her if they found her accountable? She had to keep going.

She crept down the tunnel, nearly blind because of the darkness, despite it being daylight. Hearing a light buzzing a little ways off, she assumed it was the hum of some kind of machine and pressed on in its direction.

After what seemed like miles of darkness, Ember caught sight of a light near the end of the tunnel. Encouraged, she broke into a run, hoping she would break out into a place where there was fresh air. But to her surprise, when she arrived she found that the light came from a bunch of large, buzzing bugs of some sort. They looked to be some sort of beetle with large, oval-shaped markings on their backs.

Intrigued, she stepped closer. They turned their large eyes to her, flapping their wings and flying towards her, buzzing angrily. Caught entirely by surprise, she panicked and let her more violent instincts take over. She headbutted most of the mysterious bugs out of the sky, pouncing and squashing them with her claws when they landed. The ones she missed were smacked away with her tail or her good wing. Each one that fell met a quick end when she crunched them with her claws.

"Yuck!" Ember muttered, waving off some of the bug juice. "Now this place has big lava bugs too!"

Shaking herself off, heart pounding from the encounter, she continued down the hall. Fortunately, she didn't have to travel far, for it soon opened out into what looked like the main kitchen. She was high up in the wall looking down from above, and none of the cooks seemed to notice her peering out of the opening. Curious to see what they were cooking (she was starving, having not eaten anything since yesterday), she leaned forward, peering over the ledge into the large room. They seemed to be cooking some sort of giant slugs. They were a peculiar blue color, bits and pieces glowing even though they must have been dead.

Ember stuck out her tongue at the bizarre food choice. Her stomach grumbled, as if to tell her to not be picky. "Well, at least it's food," she quickly reasoned, sighing. "I'm so hungry… They wouldn't mind much if some of that went missing, right?"

Looking around, she made sure everyone was preoccupied. Seeing that the coast was clear, she opened her mouth. Fire began to well up in the middle of her throat, growing stronger the longer she held it there. When she felt it was the strongest it could be, she released it. The large fireball shot out of her mouth and across the room, exploding in the dining room just outside the large kitchen. Those in attendance ran around trying to put out the fire, distracted by panic just as she had planned.

Ember smiled, sneaking around the kitchen under the thick cover of smoke that concealed her. She snatched a cloth that hung near the sink, sliding two large slices of slug into it and carrying her package into the dining room still while her smoke cover held. Soon enough, she was out of the dining room and running down the hallway. To where, she did not know. All she cared about was getting back to Gaul's laboratory.

Luckily, she seemed to be on the right path. The immaculate doors that lead to his study were coming into view. She gently put down her recently-acquired food, touching the sturdy doors with her front paws. When they didn't budge, she remembered that they locked from the inside.

_Darn, I forgot about that, _Ember thought. _Now what am I supposed to do?_

"What are you doing here?"

Ember jumped and spun around. "I'm sorry," she said, spitting out an excuse, "something happened down at the fields and – Cynder!"

Cynder chuckled as she walked closer. She had a few scorch marks covering her body, but other than that she looked fine. Ember supposed that the training had gone well.

"Yeah, I heard," Cynder said, nudging Ember's package over to her with her foot. "There was this huge commotion out in the fields and in the kitchens, for whatever reason. I'm glad you got out safely. They're having one heck of a time cleaning up _that _mess."

"Yeah, me too," Ember mumbled. She figured there wasn't any reason to tell Cynder that both incidents had been caused by her. Besides, the first one had been an accident, anyway. "Do you know how to get in here?"

"Yeah," Cynder said, stepping forward. "Step aside."

Ember did what she was told, taking her package with her.

Cynder placed her paw against a pad beside the door. It glowed for a few seconds, as though trying to recognize her print. Almost instantly, the sounds of heavy gears and locks working inside of it could be heard, the doors parting a minute later. Cynder smiled over at her, beckoning Ember to follow.

Ember hurriedly slid through before the doors closed again, dragging her stolen meal inside.

Cynder stretched out, popping a few joints in the process. "Aw man, what a day..." she grumbled.

"You're telling me," Ember giggled, opening her bag. She grinned, the two slug "steaks" were still safely inside. Ember had never eaten slugs, especially the exotic types that her captors seemed to favor, but she wasn't above trying it. Heck, even if it turned out to be disgusting, she needed to get something in her stomach! She felt ready to keel over at any moment.

Cynder's stomach growled suddenly. Ember looked up at her, her stomach growling as if in response. The two girls giggled, pointing at each other.

"Your stomach growled!" they said in unison before breaking into laughter again.

"Ha! Say, where did you get that? I never get meals like that around here," Cynder said.

Ember could detect a hint of jealousy in her voice and hurried to explain the meal."Mm? Oh, no no! No one gave me this," Ember said with a sly grin, leaning in. "Can you keep a secret?"

Cynder grinned, leaning in. "Yeah!"

"The one who started that fire? It was me," Ember said. "No one was hurt," she added. "I only used a quick fireball to distract them while I got this! I feel bad about stealing, but I haven't eaten in ages!"

Cynder laughed. "Woah, who knew you had it in you? I'm impressed!" She chuckled. "Sounds like something I would do."

Ember smiled, picking up a slice and handing it to her. "You hungry?"

"Ugh, _starving_," Cynder said, gratefully accepting the food. "All I ever get from this guy are scraps or gruel."

Ember licked her lips, ripping a large chunk of the meat off. She chewed it slowly, expecting it to make her gag. To her pleasant surprise, it was actually quite delicious! Almost like the fish she liked so much back home.

"Wow, this is _really good_," Ember said dreamily, swallowing.

"Oh, it is," Cynder said with a similar expression.

The two ate in companionable silence for a few minutes, savoring every scrap of their pilfered meal. With full bellies, they retired to their room.

"Hey, Ember?"

Ember turned around, looking at her. "Yes?"

"Um," Cynder said awkwardly, kicking at a few pebbles. "Thank you. That was really nice of you to share your food with me, especially after the way I treated you. By all right, it was yours. You, um… You didn't have to share."

Ember smiled warmly at her, fixing up her bed of hay. "It's no problem, Cynder. I don't hold grudges. Well... at least not for something so trivial. Besides, I could hardly survive one day here. You've been dealing with these guys for _way _longer." She swept up some hay from the floor and deposited it on her pile. "You deserve to be pampered once in a while, certainly."

Cynder smiled. It wasn't a smirk, as Ember had seen quite a few times and come to expect. She was tempted to believe that Gaul had made more of an impression on her than Cynder would ever care to admit. It was a sincere, thankful smile.

"Thanks," Cynder said. "I had you all wrong."

"Same here," Ember said, nodding. "I suppose we have a lot more in common than we thought."

Cynder nodded, watching Ember try and fix her bedding. "Hey."

"Hm?"

"Why don't we put our beds together?" Cynder offered, hopping off her own. "It would make more sense, really. Huddling up would keep us warmer at night."

"I don't know," Ember said, looking her over with mock doubt. "I might be _jabbed_ by one of your _knives_."

The two laughed heartily, Cynder tossing a few strands of hay at her.

"Fine! Then I'll just take _your_ bed and you sleep on the floor!" Cynder teased, sticking out her tongue.

Ember pouted. "That's not very hospitable, you know. Aren't you supposed to be nice to company?"

"What kind of rule is that?" Cynder asked with a grin. "You're taking up space in _my _room."

"Huh," Ember admitted. "Good point."

A loud slam just outside their shared bedroom caused the two to jolt into silence. For a terrifying moment, Ember thought Gaul had found out about both incidents and figured out it was her doing. She shuddered to think of what kind of gruesome punishment he was capable of giving her.

"I told you, it wasn't me!" an unfamiliar voice yelled, irate.

"Then who else could have done it? Hm? Do you think me dumb, whelp?" Gaul shot back.

_Whelp? _Ember thought, surprised. _It's not another dragon, is it!_

Ember crept towards the door, curious to see if her suspicion was correct. Cynder, however, hurriedly latched onto her tail and pulled her back, shaking her head in warning.

Reluctantly, Ember heeded it, curious to see the new dragon but not wanting to cause trouble for herself.

"I told you, old man," the other voice snapped. "I. Don't. Know. Why don't you ask Cynder? She's always causing trouble!"

"And so do _you,_" Gaul said, slamming his fist on the table. Or, at least, it sounded like it.

"You always take her side," the stranger snapped bitterly. "It's because she's your _favorite._"

Gaul was silent for a few moments, as if choosing his words carefully.

"She is not my favorite," he said slowly. "I've invested a lot into that little nuisance. Much more than I did you, at least. I know she knows better than to do that, lest she get punished. But you?" He paused. "You're not quite so wise."

Ember and Cynder looked at each other. Neither could be sure if that was a compliment or an insult to Cynder.

"I'll take what I can get," she whispered, smirking.

"I'm telling you, it wasn't me!" the other voice repeated, followed by loud stomping. Ember had to assume their visitor had made his exit.

Gaul sighed deeply, flopping into his chair as Ember tilted her head, looking over to Cynder. "Who was he talking to?"

"He was talking to Flame," Cynder told her, sweeping their beds together. "He's always causing trouble. I guess Gaul thought this time was no different."

"You mean... he's going to get punished for something _I _caused?" Ember realized slowly, feeling guilt creep up inside her. She'd hoped everyone would write off the day's events as an accident. She hadn't wanted anyone to actually _pay_ for what she'd done.

Cynder waved a paw in the air, as if to wave away her worries. "Don't worry about it. If anyone deserves it, it's him."

"How could you say that?" Ember asked, worry overtaking her features. "What if they hurt him?"

Cynder scowled deeply. "It's nothing he doesn't deserve. Besides, I know he won't get hurt."

"Well," Ember looked back at the door leading to Gaul's room, still uncertain. "All right. If you're sure."

"I am," Cynder said, rolling onto her back to stretch and leaving no room for argument. "Flame's too important to hurt, unfortunately."

Ember raised a brow. "Sounds like you don't like this Flame guy that much," she deduced, giggling.

Cynder scowled again. "I _hate _Flame_. _He's a huge, egotistical jerk!" She slammed a fist into the floor.

"Aw, he can't be all that bad," Ember chuckled. "He's another dragon, right?"

"That's right," Cynder replied with a nod, not relaxing in the slightest.

"Then what's the problem? You two should get along just fine," Ember reasoned.

Cynder shook her head quickly. "You don't get it. He's not like you,"

Ember smiled brightly, touched. "Aw, are you saying you _like_ me?"

Cynder stuttered, choosing her words with care. "No, I didn't say that. I just mean that you're more tolerable than him. That's all."

"Sure, _that's _what you meant," Ember teased, nudging her new friend.

Cynder giggled, rolling her eyes. "He always trying to best me. You know, prove he's _so_ much better than I am, that he's the best dragon around." She grimaced. "Training's awful with him around."

"So, he's the competitive type," Ember confirmed, intrigued. "He actually likes it here?"

"Yeah," Cynder said, snorting. "He fits _right in_with all the rest of these guys."

Ember sighed, not knowing what to expect from this mysterious dragon. She had already had a hard time with Cynder, even if they were getting along well now. Ember had assumed, since finding other dragons were a rare occurrence, that they would be bonded simply by belonging to the same species. Unfortunately, it seemed that kinship was no guarantee.

"I haven't seen him around," Ember remarked. "Does he sleep here, with Gaul?"

"No," Cynder said. "He boards up with Azin. Gaul only trains him."

"What's he going to be used for?" Ember asked, digging for information.

Cynder shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine, really. In all honesty, he's a pretty decent fighter. He might just be useful for his powers."

"I see," Ember declared at last, yawning and giving up on questions for the night.

"Tired?" Cynder asked with a smile.

Ember nodded. "Yeah, it's been a long day."

"You're telling me," Cynder said softly, closing her eyes. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Ember echoed, closing her own eyes. Although the night was still tense, she slept more peacefully; it helped to have a friend by her side. With Cynder on her team, she felt she could handle the next day with confidence.

XOXOXOXOXOX

_Author's Note: Looks like Cynder and Ember are bonding!_

_If you're all wondering, Spyro and Sparx aren't likely to show up anytime soon, but they will play a major part, no worries!_

_Thanks to Contemperina for making this great! ;3_


End file.
